Context: This paper reports on a study of the progress of vocational education and training (VET) and the need for further profession-oriented training of lecturers in public, technical vocational colleges in South Africa, under the consideration of societal and political conditions. Approach: The study is based on a mixed methods approach in…

The phenomenological study on which this article is based inquired into Grade 9 Technology teachers' professional development through workshops on pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) as well as their training needs. The workshops took place in Nelspruit in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Data were gathered from two groups of teachers who attended the…

Background: Early childhood development (ECD) practitioners face tremendous challenges in supporting learners' development in English as an additional language (EAL). The lack of a formal ECD curriculum in South Africa exacerbates this challenge for African learners from historically disadvantaged backgrounds as there is a lack of guidance on how…

Currently in South Africa, there are over 20 000 underqualified Grade R teachers who are enlisted into service to ensure that Grade R teaching can continue. The aim of the study reported on was to investigate the challenges and needs faced by underqualified teachers in order to promote the professional development of teachers teaching in rural…

In the drive to achieve universal primary education as one of the Millennium Development Goals, there is an increasing recognition of the urgency of focusing on teacher education to both meet the demand for more than one million qualified teachers required to achieve this goal within sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to combat the sometimes poor…

Educational transformation in South Africa not only brought about Outcomes-based Education and Curriculum 2005 but also a new Learning Area/Subject, called Life Orientation (LO). A major challenge for LO as a new Learning Area/Subject is the preconceptions that exist about it, and the fact that the attitude of school principals is not conducive to…

This second part of a five-part study of education in South Africa traces the development of black education, emphasizing trends since 1960, and examines current problem areas. The following historical phases in the development of black education are outlined: (1) the traditional phase, prior to 1798, during which blacks received no education; (2)…

This special issue of "Per Linguam" is entirely devoted to a report of a project to improve the English language proficiency of primary school teachers in the Kwa Zulu area of Southern Africa. The inter-university project was designed to raise the standards of English modeling and instruction early in the education of children in order…

A two-phase study examined the skills required of competent end-users of computers in the workplace and assessed the computing awareness and technological environment of first-year students entering historically disadvantaged technikons in South Africa. First, a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) panel of nine representatives of local business and…

A multinational, multidisciplinary team examined the impact of globalization on education, training, and small and medium sized enterprise development in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The study focused on the following issues: developing a learner-led competitiveness approach; building learning enterprises; education for microenterprises and…

This document, which contains information relevant to individuals planning their careers, employers, human resource planners, and training institutions, examines the skill needs of the South African labor market in 1998-2003. The preface presents a brief overview of the factors that have contributed to the high levels of unemployment and patterns…

This document contains 51 papers from a conference devoted to the theme of exploring spaces in adult education. The following are among the papers included: "Exploring Everyday Spaces: Women's Transitions from Welfare to Paid Work and Education" (Cynthia Lee Andruske); "Lost in Space? Re-valuing the Impact of Education…

This document contains 123 papers from an international conference on vocational education and training (VET) for lifelong learning in the information era. The papers focus on the following themes: (1) societal and ethical issues; (2) human resource development and personnel training; (3) international issues; (4) information technology in VET;…